Publications / Property Law

In my publication this week, I discussed about a property case that I was involved in. One of the leading developers in Dubai failed to deliver villas (worth upto 84m) to three Asian investors in Dubai. During the construction phase, the investors agreed to adjust the purchase price of the aforementioned villas with a new order of five villas that developer promised to deliver. The developer had promised that the balance would be returned to the investors after adjusting the price. After reviewing the case documents, the court ordered to cancel or terminate all agreements between parties and further ordered the developer to pay 84m to the investors along with the applicable legal interest.

In my interview this week in The National newspaper, I spoke about how recent directions given by The Dubai Land Department (DLD) to brokers to verify ownership information before brokering sales and rental deals would help combat real estate fraud.

The UAE property market has had a tumultuous history with the property bubble bursting during the global economic crisis of 2008. Since then, the real estate industry has seen much legislation introduced to boost the confidence of homeowners and investors and prevent the recurrence of the property crash. Mr Hassan Elhais highlights some of the key legal measures introduced over the years.

In my below interview with Gulf News, I explained the procedures that tenants can take regarding disputes with their landlord. Residents should be aware that there is a committee in each emirate that handles cases for both tenants and landlords.

Mr Hassan Elhais is quoted in a Gulf News article outlining the legal situation in relation to a case where Silicon Oasis tenants were asked to vacate their properties at short notice so the landlord could rent the properties at a higher price to new tenants.